Wise & Young: The nuances of Gen-Y marketing, branding, advertising, trends, & more

Today, Skittles threw a bit of a curve ball by partnering with Facebook for the first time and allowing users to send a gift (tiny tokens of appreciation, that live on your profile and usually cost a dollar). The gift, their new Skittles Gum, was free (very important to the success of the campaign) and limited only to 250,000.

However, this gift is not real, edible, or fun at all — it’s just a damn icon/graphic! This may sound a little ludicrous to anybody over 21 (hell, anybody over 10), but I can’t help but notice that they did a great job cleverly announcing their new product in front of a large amount of people within seconds. By giving it a limited edition, it had to make users feel the product was exclusive or worthy. Also, allowing users to send it to a friend, had to make users feel the brand valued their relationships (important with the Gen-Y).

By the end of the day, the gift “Sold Out” (meaning all 250,000 were given away) and a minor buzz was created. Furthermore, speaking to several peers, most we’re quite disgusted with Facebook. As Facebook continues to reach for new revenue streams, especially with advertising, they hurt the user experience and their overall brand. Will this hurt them as it has MySpace? or will the community accept it?